1 Proposal full title: Optical Infrared Co-ordination Network for Astronomy Proposal acronym: Opticon Type of funding scheme: Combination of Collaborative Project and Co-ordination and Support Action for Integrating Activities Work programme topics addressed: FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES-2012-1 Research Infrastructures for Optical/IR astronomy Name of the co-ordinating person: Professor Gerard F Gilmore List of participants: Participant no. Participant organisation name Country 1 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of United Kingdom Cambridge 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 3 Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica Italy 4 Max Planck Gesellschaft Germany 5 The Science and Technology Facilities Council United Kingdom 6 European Southern Observatory International 7 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Spain 8 Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales France 9 Stichting Astronomisch Onderzoek in Nederland The Netherlands 10 Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Spain 11 Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research Australia 12 Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association Sweden 13 National Observatory of Athens Greece 14 Liverpool John Moores University United Kingdom 15 Universidade do Porto Portugal 16 Politecnico di Milano Italy 17 University of Durham United Kingdom 18 National University of Ireland, Galway Ireland 19 Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam Germany 20 Uniwersytet Warszawski Poland 21 Universiteit Leiden on behalf of Nederlandse The Netherlands Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie (NOVA) 22 e2v United Kingdom 23 Heriot-Watt University United Kingdom 2 24 University of Bath United Kingdom 25 Alpao France 3 Table of Contents 1. Scientific and/or technical quality, relevant to the 5 topics addressed by the call…………………………………………………. 1.1 Concept and objectives…………………………………………………………. 5 1.2 Progress beyond the state-of-the-art………………………………………….. 7 1.2.1 Networking……………………………………………………………………….. 7 1.2.2 Trans-National Access………………………………………………………… 8 1.2.3 Joint Research Activities………………………………………………………... 9 1.3 Scientific and Technical Methodology and associated workplan…………... 10 i) Overall strategy………………………………………………………………….. 10 ii) Timing of Work Packages………………………………………………………. 11 Gantt Chart……………………………………………………………………….. 12 iii) Work description broken down into Work Packages………………………… 15 1.3a Work Packages List……………………………………………………………... 16 1.3b1 Deliverables List…………………………………………………………………. 18 1.3b2 Summary of Trans-National Access Provision………………………………. 20 1.3b3 Summary of Service Provision………………………………………………… 21 1.3c List of Milestones………………………………………………………………… 22 1.3d1 Work Package description for Management, Networking activity or Joint 25 Research Activity………………………………………………………………… WP1 – Towards Adaptive Optics for the European Extremely Large 25 Telescope………………………………………………………………………… WP2 – Fast Detectors and Cameras………………. 29 WP3 – Astrophotonics………………………………………….………………. 32 WP4 – Image reconstruction in optical interferometry ……………………... 36 WP5 – Development of Active Freeform Mirrors ……….…………………… 40 WP6 – Novel Dispersive and Holographic Optical Elements for Astronomy 43 1.3d2 Work Package description for Trans-National Access …………………..….. 47 WP7 – Trans-National Access………………………………………………... 47 Implementation Plan for Proposal……………………………………………… 68 1.3d1 Work Package description for Management, Networking activity or Joint 69 Research Activity………………………………………………………………… WP8 – Management…………………………………………………………….. 69 WP9 – Innovation ……………………………………………………………… 71 WP9.1 Roadmapping…………………………………………………………… 71 WP9.2 Technology Workshops………………………………………………… 72 WP9.3 Industry Club……………………………………………………………. 72 WP10 – ELT science and tools ………………..……………………………… 73 WP10.1 Network Coordination…………………………………………………. 74 WP10.2 Workshops and Talks………………………………………………… 74 WP10.3 E-ELT Tools…………………………………………………………… 75 WP11 – Time Domain Astronomy.………………………….……………….... 76 WP11.1 Scientific Coordination and overall project management…………. 76 WP11.2 Identify and assess the capabilities of exiting robotic telescopes... 76 WP11.3 Standards, software and tools for individual telescopes………….. 76 WP11.4 Enhance the Facilities………………………………………………… 76 WP11.5 Software and tools for managing the network……………………… 77 WP11.6 Crystallising the experience………………………………………….. 77 WP11.7 Outreach and Public Engagement………………………………….. 77 WP12 – Medium Sized Telescope Integration ……………………………… 78 4 WP12.1 A Telescope Directors’ Forum……………………………………….. 78 WP12.2 A Common Time Allocation Committee ……………………………. 78 WP12.3 Support to the Transnational Access Process………………..……. 78 WP13 – Enhancing community skills - Integrating Communities ..………… 79 WP13.1 Organisation of Observing Schools…………………………………. 80 WP13.2 Organise training workshops on new types of instruments……….. 80 WP13.3 Raise interests and skills in modern instrumentation technology 81 and forefront topics in astrophysics………………………………………….. WP13.3.1 Network of European 1-2m class telescopes for research 81 training……………………………………………………………………………. WP13.3.2 LaCaille exchange grants………………………………………….. 81 WP13.3.3 Organisation of “Awareness” conferences……………………….. 81 WP13.3.4 Workshop ”Design of an instrument for ground-based 82 telescopes”……………………………………………………………………….. WP14 – The European Interferometry Initiative……………………………… 83 WP14.1 Coordination…………………………………………………………… 84 WP14.2 Fizeau Exchange Programme……………………………………….. 84 WP14.3 Training Schools………………………………………………………. 84 1.3e Summary of Staff Effort…………………………………………………………. 85 iv) Pert Diagram……………………………………………………………………... 86 v) Significant risks and associated contingency plans………………………….. 87 2. Implementation…………………………………………………………………. 89 2.1 Management Structure and Procedures………………………………………. 89 2.2 Individual Participants…………………………………………………………… 92 2.3 Consortium as a whole…………………………………………………………. 102 2.3.i Subcontracts…………………………………………………………………….. 104 2.3.ii Other Countries…………………………………………………………………. 104 2.3.iii Additional Partners……………………………………………………………… 104 2.4 Resources to be committed…………………………………………………….. 104 Access Costs…………………………………………………………………….. 105 3. Impact…………………………………………………………………………….. 118 3.1 Expected impacts listed in the work programme…………………………….. 118 3.2 Dissemination and/or exploitation of project results, and management of 120 intellectual property……………………………………………………………… 4. Ethical Issues…………………………………………………………………… 123 5. Consideration of Gender aspects…………………………………………… 125 5 1. Scientific and technical quality, relevant to the topics addressed by the call 1.1 Concept and objectives It is a truism that optical-infrared astronomy is in a “golden age”. Public interest, manifested through such criteria as downloads of HST images and media interest, is higher than for almost any other subject. This follows naturally from scientific progress – there are new stories, new results, new Prizes to celebrate – and the intrinsic interest of the questions addressed by astronomy, which range from the origin of the Universe, through the nature of matter and existence, to exo-planets and life elsewhere. This story of scientific success has however not happened by chance – considerable planning and organisation, and continuing technical research and development, is required to develop the highly- skilled scientists and engineers trained to operate and exploit the state of the art facilities which deliver the scientific advances. A decade ago planning assumptions for next-generation astronomical infrastructures took for granted that older facilities would become obsolete, would be closed, and their operational budgets would contribute to newer facilities. However, the number of new large expensive facilities is small – the number of extant facilities is large. This course would turn astronomy into a system which delivered research capabilities only to a small elite – inevitably the wealthier elite. In fact, this is the way astronomy was implemented earlier in the 20th century, when global domination was in the hands of a very few wealthy private institutions, all in the US. We do not wish to go down this road again. The obsolescence paradigm was based on two fundamental errors: first, that older facilities could not be upgraded affordably to retain cutting-edge competitiveness, and second, that all progress came from the new, large facilities. Optical-infrared telescopes are limited by their instruments and their users, not by themselves. The performance of astronomical detectors has been improved by orders of magnitude over the last two decades and can be further much improved, thus maintaining “small” facilities as cutting-edge capabilities. Spectrographs now perform very much better than they ever did, but are still orders of magnitude away from working at fundamental performance limits. We can, and are, continuing to improve. Furthermore , astronomy, unlike most physical sciences, is still in discovery mode. Most of the topical exciting subjects which dominate public interest – dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, super-massive black holes and so on – have been discovered in the last two decades and were unpredicted. Astronomy progresses by having very many inquisitive people exploring parameter space on many facilities, not by focussing on a single experiment. The change from an assumption of obsolescence to an assumption of future opportunity came to be made by the development of a European-scale astronomical community. This community was able to make the case that facilities should be enhanced and shared, not